


A Couple Years Sooner

by not_a_spy



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cell redemption, Developing Friendships, Friendship, I can't write friendships help me, I've not seen DBZ in years, Might be OOC, Not a ship fic, Ok definitely OOC sorry, Villain Redemption, Written for a Class, alternate saiyan saga, probably not canon compliant, saiyan saga, unlikely friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-02-28 11:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18755533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_a_spy/pseuds/not_a_spy
Summary: An error on Cell's part lands the time machine mid-Saiyan saga. He must now deal with a five-year-old Gohan who really wants to make friends and Piccolo who is very suspicious of him.Cell realizes he is accidentally becoming Gohan's friend.Supposed to be a slow-burn friendship but I'm impatient. No, this isn't a ship, pure platonic friendship.I started this for a class, so don't mind me writing this as if you know very little about DBZ.Oct 3 2019 - This fanfic's on hiatus for now, since I can't really come up with anything else that sounds any good to me. Normally I'd fill the space with filler fluff but I know eventually I gotta get to the story part too. If you'd like to see more, please comment and tell me what you want to see happen, or maybe message me if you don't want to say it in the comments.





	1. Time's A Tricky Thing

**Author's Note:**

> I may be a bit rusty still, I've not written anything substantial in over a year now. For once I've actually planned a bit of story, though. I used to be able to just pour out a story while I was writing it.  
> I hope you enjoy this anyways! <3

Cell stalked his prey, watching as Trunks set up his time machine for one final jump to the past. He had been watching for a few days now, having emerged just after the boy ruined any chance of him reaching his perfect final form by destroying Androids 17 and 18. Cell would’ve just killed him out of frustration, but he realized that it would be beneficial to watch him and see if he could gain anything from the half-Saiyan’s continued existence.  
His slitted-pupils dilated in anticipation, seeing the lavender-haired boy close the time machine’s domed lid and started heading toward the building. Cell pounced on him, not even giving him time to cry in surprise, and wrapped his tail around the startled demi-Saiyan's throat. He waited, Trunks’s struggles proving ineffective and slowly losing strength. The bio-android walked towards the time machine, Trunks’s body dropping with a thud behind him. He looked up and down the machine, taking in just how small it was. It wasn’t built to hold him, eight-foot-tall with wings and a tail, it was built to hold a normal humanoid.

“I suppose I must transform into my larval state to fit inside...” He reasoned to himself, pressing the button to open the lid. The hiss of the time machine’s lid opening mechanics filled the air. He stepped inside the machine, his body shrinking in size and turning quadrupedal in shape, a purple lumpy coconut-like shell forming around him from the legs up.

Carelessly, his tail brushed against the control panel to start up the machine. Unbeknownst to him, he had accidentally changed the time that Trunks had put in. Not by much, though, but by a couple of years. He rested in his egg as the whirring of the mechanisms led him to his first sleep since leaving the underground originally, the time machine tearing out of his timeline and into the timeline he hoped would allow him to reach the very perfection he longed for and that the late Doctor Gero had planned for him.

 

* * *

 

 

Gohan jumped as a whirring sound woke him from his nap. He frantically looked around, tail fluffed up and sticking straight up like a frightened kitten’s. He looked up and saw a big machine seemingly appearing out of nowhere. The little boy hid behind a rock, only a small amount of his tail sticking out from behind it.

The machine landed on the ground, and the terrified boy watched as a bright light shone out of the cockpit. There was an explosion and he could see the glass melting from the heat of it. Gohan flinched, pulling his tail behind the rock and hoping whatever was in that odd machine wouldn’t know he was there.  
Gohan’s eyes widened as he realized something terrible, what if this was the ship with the Saiyans in it? They weren’t supposed to come for a good five months! He wasn’t even close to ready! Where was Piccolo when he needed him?  
Gohan shook his head and peeked out from behind the rocks, there was no time to worry about that now. A buzzing noise filled the air and the thick cloud of smoke cleared. Gohan stared in awe as he saw what looked like a massive insect fly out of the machine and land on the ground. He must’ve been staring for a minute or so, watching this strange bug look around trying to figure out where it is. Gohan blinked, remembering one of the science lessons his mother gave him.

“It must be a cicada…. A weird… mutant cicada.” Gohan whispered to himself. He quickly put his hands on his mouth as he realized his mistake. It was too late, as the bug had turned to look at him.

  
Cell’s head snapped to look at the rock Gohan was hiding behind, his super-hearing picked up someone speaking. He watched in horror as Gohan, clad in purple and wearing a headband, walked out from behind the rock.

“I must’ve gone back too far! Now I’ll have to wait even longer to reach perfection!” He angrily thought to himself, his eyes narrowing as Gohan stepped closer. He growled at the little boy, who he realized was most likely about five at this point, and he lifted his wings up as a threat display. He knew he couldn’t actually kill Gohan yet as he could mess up the timeline even more and possibly make it so the androids never existed. "That'd nullify the entire point of going to the past in the first place." He thought.  
Cell looked up and saw Gohan flinch back in fear, mere inches from his face.  
An idea popped into his head. Maybe, just maybe he could use this to his advantage. He could become more powerful before ever absorbing a single Android, and then the resulting power growth will improve his final form to even beyond perfection! If he just allowed the boy to live and got him to trust him enough to let his guard down, he could suck the life out of him with no struggle what-so-ever and none would be the wiser. First, he had to make contact.

“Hello.” He rasped, his brown mouth barely able to form the words. This form wasn’t technically equipped to speak, but it would do. The boy jumped back, eyes widening in shock.

“Uh… Hi.” The boy shyly responded. “I’m Gohan. What’s your name? Where are you from?”

“My name is Cell. I am from… nowhere important.” Cell replied, his red eyes unblinking and cold.

Gohan walked closer, reaching out a hand to touch him. Cell hissed and Gohan jumped back yet again. “Do NOT touch me.” Cell hissed.

“U-uh sorry!” Gohan apologized, bowing his head. “I’m just curious is all! What... what are you?” He asked, tilting his head in wonder.

Cell blinked, wondering what he should say. He knew he shouldn’t tell him that he is an android, that was certain- but... what would he say? Based on the time period, Gohan wouldn’t know what a Saiyan is, and nobody really ever told the group what Frieza’s race is, but Vegeta definitely would know that, and the boy would probably blab to him--

Gohan cleared his throat, drawing Cell back to attention again. “It’s... it’s ok if you don’t know what you are. My dad didn’t know he was an alien until recently…” The half-Saiyan boy trailed off, probably thinking of his father.  
A growling sound emanated from Gohan's stomach. Gohan looked down, blushing in embarrassment. “Oh, excuse me. It must be dinner time… would you like something to eat?” Gohan asked, looking Cell up and down, “Er… what do you eat?”

Cell blinked again, yet another question he didn’t know how to answer. Of course, he couldn’t get the boy to bring him humans to drain... What would be a sensible alternative? Cell racked his thoughts quickly, deciding on one thing.

“Whatever you have will work.” He said, staring up at the black-haired boy. Cell felt his mouth watering at the mere mention of food. He certainly was hungry, having to change back into his larval state really was draining, and his Saiyan DNA was definitely kicking in at the moment.

Gohan nodded and ran off to catch them both something to eat, leaving Cell alone. He decided to take this time to survey his surroundings. He lifted off the ground, and into the air. His buglike wings buzzing, he flew around the area. He was beside a mountain, with a single cave behind them.

He landed and crawled into the cave. It was a bit cold in there, but the cold wasn’t much of a bother for him thanks to Frieza’s DNA. He sat and waited for the boy to return, taking a short nap.


	2. Chat over Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cell and Gohan have dinner and bond. Cell decides to protect him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit 7-16-19: New scene added! Cell tries to teach Gohan how to use telekinesis!

As the sun was just beginning to set, Cell awoke to Gohan's return. Gohan started a fire in front of them both, set down a pile of small animals he’d caught, and he began cooking his piece.

“Do you want yours cooked?” He asked Cell, holding up the raw leg.

Cell shook his head, and Gohan tossed it to him. Cell caught it and managed to eat the entire leg down to the bone faster than the boy could perceive.

“Wow… you must’ve been hungry.” Gohan said in awe. He looked over at the large pile he had caught. It certainly would be enough for the both of them “Do… do you want more?” He asked.

Cell nodded, and Gohan tossed him another leg. After a while, the two had finished their food.

Gohan curled up next to the fire and went to sleep, his snores filling the air in the cave. His tail was curled up and occasionally would twitch or wag. Cell watched the boy intently for an hour to ensure he was asleep and once he was certain he was, Cell crawled out of the cave.

Piccolo stood atop a mountain, watching Gohan sleep. There was a strange insect creature crawling out of Gohan’s cave, and the boy fed it and went to sleep with it in the area. Piccolo shook his head, that’s a major mistake in his book. He would have to keep an eye on the thing to determine if it was a danger to his student… or the rest of the planet.

 

* * *

 

A week passed and Cell was still staying with Gohan. He didn’t know what affects this would have on the timeline, but it was too late now as the time machine didn’t have any fuel left-- and even if it did, it was pretty much nonfunctional after what he did to it. He didn’t know what open exposure to the time stream would do to him, and he wasn’t willing to risk everything to find out.

Cell sat in the cave next to Gohan, the boy was entertaining himself with a small lizard he had found. It walked over to him, but hissed and ran back to Gohan.

Gohan blinked at this. “Why don’t animals like you, Cell?” He asked, holding the lizard in his hands.

Cell looked at the lizard in the boy’s hands and contemplated the question.

“It could have to do with...” He started explaining, “..the fact that I am not native to their ecosystem and thus they fear me.”

As they should, he added in his mind, not daring to imply to the boy that he is something to fear. His plan hinged on the boy lowering his guard around him, even a second of fear might cause it to fail.

Gohan glanced at his insectoid friend and looked back at the lizard.

“That makes sense.” He slowly set the lizard down on the ground and it scurried off, squeezing itself between some rocks and disappearing. The monkey-tailed boy stood up and brushed the dust off of his legs.

“Would you like to come for a walk with me?” He innocently asked, walking to the opening of the cave and turning back to his friend.

Cell blinked, he wasn’t expecting Gohan to trust him enough to take him anywhere but the cave. 

“Uh…” He rasped out, “Sure. Why not.” His wings buzzed as he lifted off the ground and slowly flew to the boy’s side, not wanting to go so fast as to startle him.

Cell looked around, yet again taking in the scenery. There were few trees, and more mountains than anyone could count- Well, more mountains than any normal being could count. Cell’s superior intellect would allow him to count these mountains with ease, and he counted around twenty before Gohan stopped walking again.

He stopped counting, and instead took in the area Gohan had taken him to. It was a large empty field, with no trees and mountains to the sides. He looked at the sky to determine their location, and it seemed they were near the Northern Wastelands, where King Cold’s ship was supposed to land in a few years.

Cell began thinking of his goals again. Considering that Trunks went to the past to stop the androids, he would just have to get to the androids before Trunks and the other Z fighters could destroy them. He would have to--

Cell was broken from his train of thought as he heard Gohan yell in fear. He looked ahead and saw a large orange dinosaur- a T-rex- chasing him-- It was gaining on him. Cell thought back to the reason they were out there, Gohan was only out here because he wanted to take Cell out sightseeing or something. Seeing as this didn’t happen in his timeline, the dinosaur could kill Gohan and throw everything out of whack! It could ruin his plans! Cell decided he must take an active interest in the little half-Saiyan’s wellbeing. For the timeline’s sake- and better yet, for his own sake!

Cell threw caution to the wind, shooting past Gohan faster than either the boy or the dinosaur could register and firing energy beams from his eyes, slicing the dinosaur into pieces. Cell landed on the ground, the pieces of dinosaur raining around him.

Gohan gawked at the sight, panting as he fell on the ground in shock. “Woah! That was amazing!” He shouted, jumping back up and running over to his powerful insectoid friend.

Cell looked back at Gohan and then looked out at a mountain nearby. "It was nothing.” He said. He could sense Piccolo’s energy signature from that mountain. It made sense, his power level- although he had only used not even one percent of it- would have dwarfed even the strongest enemy they had faced yet. Cell chuckled as he thought of how pitifully weak Raditz was. Even an idiot could see that Cell could annihilate the monkey with a flick of his tail. Hell, he could have beaten Raditz while in his formation tube!

Cell looked over at Gohan, who was attempting to pick up the larger bits of the dinosaur. He sighed and lifted all of them with his telekinesis.

Gohan again looked at him with surprise. “How are you doing that?” He asked, waving his hands around the dinosaur to possibly catch some sort of webbing or energy lifting them.

“I just... am.” Cell said, beginning to carry the large amounts of food to the cave. Gohan ran to catch up with him.

“Can you teach me? Please?” Gohan begged, still running alongside the bio-android. “This sort of thing would come in handy in the fight with the Saiyans!”

Cell looked over at Gohan and sighed. “I suppose I can.”

 

* * *

 

Cell sat across from Gohan, the pile of dinosaur meat sitting beside him. "In order to use telekinesis, you must be fully focused." Cell said, lifting a piece of meat from the pile. "Early on you may have issues with focus, but eventually with enough practice, you might be able to master it to the point of being able to multi-task like I am."

  
Gohan watched in awe as Cell made the piece fly around in a circle, while several other pieces lifted off the pile as well.   
Cell set all but one piece back in the pile. "Try and lift it." He ordered, setting the piece in front of Gohan.

Cell stared as Gohan began holding his breath and straining as he tried to get the piece to lift.

  
He sighed heavily. "You're doing it entirely wrong." He said, putting a claw to his head, "You're going to burst a vein if you continue this."

  
Gohan blinked, letting the breath out. "How do I do it then?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

  
Cell narrowed his eyes, trying to think of how to explain it to him. He got an idea.

"I'll just put the information in your mind. No need for us to bother with this stupid lesson any longer." He stated.

  
Before Gohan could question it, Cell used his telepathy to connect to Gohan's mind. A rush of emotions flooded into Cell's head, including a very strong feeling of trust and friendship. Cell blinked, having not expected the boy to accidentally push emotions into his mind, shook his head to help filter things out. "Stop that." He said, "I need to focus."

Another rush of emotion filled Cell's mind, this time it was guilt and an apology, but it quickly dissipated on its own. Cell then selected the correct information and sent it into Gohan's mind.

  
He focused back into reality and noticed Gohan had a very shocked expression on his face. "What are you waiting for?" Cell barked, "Use your telekinesis now."

  
Gohan nodded, held his hands out to help him focus, and tried lifting the piece of meat again. This time, after an hour of the two sitting there, it shifted a little bit.

  
Cell turned around and walked into the cave, bringing the pile of meat with him. "Good work. Practice it every morning with your other training." He ordered.


	3. Decisions

Piccolo sat on the mountain, horrified by what he saw and sensed that morning. This… insect Gohan had befriended. It had power he couldn’t even comprehend. He was interrupted by Kami sending him a telepathic message.

“Did you sense that?” Kami asked.

Piccolo cringed. “Yes. It’s nothing to worry about. I’ll handle it.” He replied, putting a hand to his forehead. Kami certainly was good at pointing out the obvious.

He cut off the connection, hoping that Kami would actually listen to him for once. He didn’t need the others getting involved in this and possibly provoking the creature into killing them- and Gohan. He had only been with the boy for a couple of months but he certainly cared enough about him to keep him from being murdered by this… creature.

“But, that power…” He thought, turning to face the direction they had headed. “...It felt…” He shook his head. There was no way.

There was no way that this insect had the power signature of everyone he’d ever known.

Goku… Gohan… even his own signature was in there. It was… uncanny, seeing some creature that was much stronger than himself have no signature of its own...

* * *

 

A few months had passed, with only one month until the Saiyans arrived. Cell was still living with Gohan, the boy still training with Piccolo during the day. This was good, Cell didn’t want the boy dying on him. 

The insectoid bio-android looked up as Gohan walked into the cave, this time holding a coconut-bowl of berries in his tail.

“I couldn’t catch anything today, do you think you’ll be able to eat these?” The boy asked, his tail passing the bowl into his hands to show his friend.

Cell looked them over and nodded, berries were good enough if nothing else was available. Gohan set the bowl down between them and Cell began to eat, using his clawed feet to grab a handful of berries at a time.

Gohan looked out at the cave’s entrance. “So… what was your home like?” Gohan asked.

Cell stopped eating and contemplated what answer he should give. “It was…” He started, pawing a berry on the ground around as he thought, “...Interesting, you could say. I wasn’t above ground for much more than a few days.”

Gohan blinked and turned to look at Cell. “You lived underground?” He questioned, again thinking of the Cicada. He really was similar to one, now that he thought of it.

Cell nodded, “Yes, for four years. Normally, my larval state- which I am currently in- would take place underground and I would have to gather nutrients from there.” He said, his raspy voice echoing on the rocks. “You see, to fit in Tr--... _my machine_ , I had to transform back into… an earlier form.”

Gohan scooted closer to Cell, hoping that his buglike friend would tell him more.

Cell continued, “Of course, being above ground with you giving me food… that will speed up the transformation more than if I were to hibernate underground.” Cell stretched his wings to emphasize his point, “Instead of the full four years, I instead will reach my first form in about a couple of months ahead of schedule if all goes well.”

Gohan thought about this for a moment, and but his eyes widened in realization. “What did you mean by... First form?” He asked, laying down on his stomach.

Cell cringed, realizing his mistake. “I… it is hypothetical.” He spat out quickly. “Yes, entirely hypothetical in nature.”

Gohan blinked, sitting up. “Okay, don’t tell me. That’s fine.” He muttered, the tone in his voice making Cell cringe again.

The boy certainly knows he was lying. He ought not to make an error like that again.

Gohan grabbed the bowl of berries. “Are you finished?” Cell nodded, walking to the other end of the cave and putting himself in a little notch in the cave.  Gohan again curled up by the fire and went to sleep.

Cell contemplated his feelings, lying in the enclave. “Why is it I feel… bad, for lying to him?” He muttered, closing his eyes. “I’m not supposed to _care_ about his feelings, I’m an android! I’m supposed to kill him, his father and anyone he’s ever cared about!” He angrily whispered to himself. “It’s that boy… he’s… too nice…I shouldn't get too attached… ” He trailed off as he fell asleep, not noticing Piccolo standing at the opening of the cave.

“I’ll have to get Gohan away from this… Cell creature somehow.” Piccolo muttered to himself, his cape fluttering in the breeze. "Tomorrow." Piccolo turned and flew out of the cave, the only sign that he was ever there was the breeze that blew into the cave, causing the fire to flicker.

* * *

 

The next morning, Gohan woke before Cell, the light entering the cave and shining directly into his face. Gohan’s tail twitched as he got up, rubbing his eyes.

He looked at Cell sitting in his little nook and thought to himself.  “I wish he’d tell me where he’s from… maybe then we could visit there sometime.” The boy turned and walked out of the cave, stepping out into the golden rays of the sun and stretching as it warmed him up. His tail swished in contentment, and he ran off to look go train with Piccolo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I've got so far, I'll continue whenever I've got free time.  
> I feel like this is going too fast but I'm not good at slowing down.


	4. Just A Little "Friendly" Banter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cell and Piccolo have a chat, and Cell realizes how much he cares about Gohan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's dedicated to PrincessShotgun, who helped me get motivated to write it! 
> 
> Cell's also kinda a master of sass in this it seems. Honestly, I like it. Reminds me of how he acts in his Perfect Form.

Cell's wings buzzed as he stretched, waking up to the sounds of birds chirping outside of the cave and the distinct lack of a fire. The cave was only a little cold, so Gohan couldn't've been gone for too long. Cell walked out of his crevasse, and took census of everyone's locations. Gohan was a few miles away, his power level flaring as he was most likely doing some frustrating training. The other Z-fighters were on the Lookout, as they always were. No issue there. Last but not least, Piccolo was---  
...Right outside the cave. Cell groaned in frustration, couldn't this wait until noon? He shook his head, he can't think things like that, that's something that someone like Yajirobe would think, and he can't have any of that. He decided to get the upper hand on whatever the Namekian's plans were for that day by flying out faster than he could sense, and landing in front of him.

Piccolo jolted in shock as his senses finally caught up, Cell chuckled. "Did I startle you, Piccolo? I'm oh so sorry about that, I just can't help being absolutely terrifying sometimes." He said, still laughing at the shocked expression on his Namekian cousin's face, "Well.. more like, all the time."

Piccolo growled, getting into a fighting stance. "How do you know my name?" He shouted, energy crackling around his hands as he prepared to fight the insectoid monster in front of him.

Cell laughed. "Come on, you dumbass! Clearly the boy must've told me, right?" Piccolo narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah. Of course." Piccolo said, standing back into his normal stance, embarrassed he let his fear get the better of him. He didn't remember Gohan ever mentioning him more than in passing, but of course there could've been conversations he missed. His glare sharpened as he thought of Gohan again. "So, what do you want with Gohan?" He interrogated, folding his arms.

If Cell had pupils in this form, you would've seen him roll his eyes. "Really? Out of any question you could ask me, you ask that?" He spat, causing Piccolo to growl in anger again. "With all that growling, one might think there's a rabid dog loose."

Cell laughed again, making Piccolo glare at him even stronger than before. "Answer the question." Piccolo snapped, his patience clearly wearing thin and a vein visible on his temple.

"What do I want with Gohan?" Cell repeated, his insectoid mouth forming a grin. "I'm going to eat him of course." Piccolo snapped back into a fighting stance, and Cell laughed. "Wow, idiot. Gullible much? If I were someone else I'd claim that was very prejudiced of you to think that just because I'm a strange monster that I am definitely going to eat people."

Piccolo growled again, "Stop toying with me and get to the point." He shouted, stomping a small crater into the ground.

"Stop toying? This is the most fun I've had in a long time, Piccolo." Cell replied, putting a claw to his chin, "Well, minus that time Gohan and I were..." He shook his head. "No, no, no." He growled, narrowing his eyes. "Forget what I just said."

Piccolo blinked, looking at the creature in front of him, who seemed to be upset by the thought of having fun with Gohan. "What, afraid of making friends, bug?" Piccolo mocked, and Cell growled at him, his eyes flashed red and his claws dug into the ground.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone landing nearby. "Mister Piccolo, I'm done with the exercise!" Gohan shouted from nearby. He ran over, and saw his two friends seeming very unhappy with each other. "Are... you guys fighting?" He asked, brushing his long hair out of his face.

Both Piccolo and Cell dropped their glares at each other and sighed. "No. We're not." They said in unison.

Gohan smiled. "Ok! Well, I'm going to go catch lunch! Any requests?" He said, putting his arms behind his head like how his father used to do.

Piccolo shook his head, and Cell nodded. "I would like something large. Today has been..." He looked over at Piccolo, glaring. "...Stressful, to say the least."

Gohan blinked and nodded. "Alright, I'll do my best! You two wait here, ok?" He said, flying off without another word.

Piccolo looked down at Cell, he seemed to care about the boy as much as he himself did. "...Truce?" He said, holding out his hand.

Cell sighed, putting a claw in Piccolo's hand. "For the boy's sake."

 

* * *

 

Three days before the Saiyans arrive, Gohan was ordered to take them as rest.

"You won't be much use if you're exhausted, kid." Piccolo had told him.

  
Gohan and Cell sat in the cave together, eating a meal that the boy had caught earlier that day.

Cell somewhat accepted that he would somewhat care about Gohan, and had all but completely forgotten his original plan. He noticed that his carapace was getting harder, soon he would have to retreat somewhere safe to begin the molting process. Normally he would be able to do it wherever he emerged, but considering he is already above ground he would have to find somewhere else. Both for his sake, as to not cause a cave-in, and for Gohan's sake. The last thing he'd want is for the boy to be hurt because of his carelessness.

  
Cell looked over at Gohan, wondering how he'd break it to him that he would not be there for him during the fight with the Saiyans. Gohan was scarfing down large amounts of dinosaur, a lot faster than he had in previous months. Cell's heart swelled with pride, his friend had grown very strong and had even slightly surpassed the prior timeline's Gohan at this point in time. His power level was somewhere around that of a Saibaman, and that was in his resting state. Who knows, maybe he could injure Nappa with a strong enough Masenko?

Cell shook his head, turning back to his meal and finished the rest of it off. He couldn't bear to hurt Gohan, not anymore at least, so how would he tell the boy?  
A few minutes passed, Gohan finished his meal, and the two headed to bed.

Cell stewed in his crevice, he knew soon he would have to leave, and the boy would be gone for a while after due to the Frieza issue on Namek... Should he warn Gohan about that? No, no, that might cause even more issues with the timeline. He had already mucked things up too much, and it would be best for him to... leave as soon as possible.

That's it.

He'll leave. Immediately.

  
Cell sat and waited for Gohan to fall asleep, and flew out of the cave and off into the distance.

  
He didn't know if he would ever see his friend again, or if he should stay away for good, but he had a lot of thinking to do.


	5. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cell's time alone, being his usual self. Drinking people, cracking jokes, and of course being rather obsessive.

Cell landed beside a mountain. He had been gone for about a week, Gohan and Piccolo had gone up against the Saiyans and although it was very stressful for Cell, he did not intervene. Instead, he watched from a distance. Gohan had managed to take out a couple of Saibamen, sparing Yamcha from death. However, Yamcha later died trying to stop Nappa. Cell had to stifle a laugh at the time, since Yamcha somehow managed to die quite literally a minute before Goku arrived.

"Pathetic," he thought. He almost stepped in when Nappa attacked Gohan, but Piccolo sacrificed his life just as he did in his home timeline. The fight with Vegeta was almost the same, but Gohan was a bit more helpful during it rather than being a crying punching bag.

  
Cell glanced around, his body almost immobile as it was finally time to return to his first form. He noticed a small crevice, one not unlike the one he stayed in when he was in the cave, but this one had no cave around it. He crawled into it, and the back of his carapace split open, allowing him to step out and stretch his newly returned arms.  
As the fluid dried on his form, he did a quick check to make sure no-one could sense his power level.

Goku in space?

Check.

Gohan and the other two near Namek?

Check.

Weak power level nearby?

Check--

Cell practically slapped himself in frustration. He forgot to check the area for anyone nearby. Growling at himself for his stupidity, he flew out of the crevice.

Standing at the base of the mountain looking up at him, was a brown-haired rabbit man holding a dog leash, the dog long since having slipped out of its collar and ran off in fear. The rabbit stood shaking, staring at him in fear. Cell widened his sensing range, and noticed there was a small camp of the rabbits nearby, clearly his prey's family.  
Cell smiled, realizing that his mistake instead meant he didn't have to go far for his first proper meal.

* * *

 

It was a nice and sunny day. Cell sat perched on the side of a rooftop, looking out across the city below him.

It had been a couple days since Gohan and the others arrived on Namek and, based on the energy coming from that direction, they were currently fighting Frieza. They would be using the Dragon Balls soon, and so he decided he should stick around West City as to see Gohan return safely from Namek. If Gohan didn't return with the others, of course, he would have to punish the Z-fighters for not keeping his only friend safe. They would make for a nice energy boost, after all.

He was dragged out of his thoughts as he noticed a lone human walking down the street. They seemed completely unaware of him being there, and so he followed them in hopes of absorbing what little energy they had. He tried to keep his presence down low while the others were on Namek, but of course, he still needed to gather energy. He stalked a few meters behind, darting from shady alleyway to shady alleyway. The woman had very nice clothing, a red dress and pearls. He watched as his prey walked into a clothing store. He stood outside the store for a few minutes, when a thought came to him.  
"Clothes..." Cell muttered to himself, "...Gohan would most likely want me to wear clothes... it would make me seem less threatening to him in this form." He stepped out into daylight, and went into the store fast enough that nobody would see.

While watching the woman he planned on absorbing as well as the cashier, who seemed busy ringing up items for the woman, he browsed through the clothes the store held. Of course, no shirt or pants would fit him, but he looked through accessory after accessory.

Eventually his eyes landed on a large black scarf, one that seemed to be over nine feet long, draping across a display. Based on the advertisements around it, it seemed it was supposed to be more of a novelty item rather than functional, but for Cell it didn't matter either way. 

He grabbed the scarf, and turned to the cashier and the woman he followed in, the two of whom seemed to finally notice him and were staring at him with absolute horror on their faces.  
He smiled and wrapped the scarf around his neck, the ends trailing behind him as he walked up to them. "I'll be taking this, and a combo meal to go, please." He said with a laugh as he began his feast.

* * *

 

Cell stood outside Gohan's window, watching as the boy did his math homework. He had returned to Earth a few months ago, and Cell was overjoyed to overhear that not only did Gohan manage to hold his own against some of Frieza's forces, he managed a good couple of punches on Frieza himself! Of course, that was when he was angry, but a punch is a punch.  
Cell snapped back into focus as Gohan began to walk over to the window to adjust the blinds. He flew off, a small amount of dust kicking up behind him as he left, causing Gohan to sneeze.

Gohan looked around, trying to find whatever it was that made that dust cloud appear. He shook his head and went back to his desk. The boy attempted to get back to his math homework, but a thought was bothering him. His friend Cell hadn't turned back up yet, and he was starting to get worried. What if when the Saiyans destroyed that city, he was in it? What if Shenron didn't revive him because of some weird loophole? Gohan shook his head again, and started his work again. He's probably just been busy doing cicada-monster things.

Cell flew around, having decided to take the time to gather himself more energy. He landed in a small town north of West City. He glanced over at the sign to the town. "Gingertown, eh? Sounds delicious. I have been craving something with a little spice lately." He laughed, starting his search for his latest meal, his scarf waving in the breeze behind him. He hid himself in an alley, behind a crate with newspapers stacked on it. Out of curiosity, he grabbed one and scanned through it. One of the headlines caught his eye.  
"Local Conspiracy Theorist States West City Monster Is The Cause of Disappearances Across West City."  
Cell laughed, reading supposed "eyewitness accounts" of the "West City Monster". He had made sure to absorb any and all witnesses to what he was doing, so all of the accounts were completely false and some even contradicted others. Some said he was a blob monster that assimilated all things organic, others said he was a vampire sucking the people dry. However, none were even close. One, funnily enough, said that King Piccolo had returned and was picking off humanity one by one!  
He set down the newspaper as a door into the alley opened and a man stepped out carrying a trash can.  
"Nothing like light reading before dinner." He chuckled, as he drained the poor worker entirely and flew off to find his next victim.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should really go to bed, considering it's already past midnight. Oops, haha.


	6. Ice Cold Dessert.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cell has dessert, and talks to the z-fighters.

Cell stood atop a mesa, awaiting the landing of Frieza's ship. Although he had gotten there about an hour early, it was certainly worth it to get a better seat to watch the show. Dust floated by as he stared up at the sky in waiting. His tail swished in anticipation of the carnage he was overjoyed to get to see in person. Even though he has the memories from Goku, nothing beats seeing it in person.  
A familiar whirring sound filled the air, and Cell glanced over to see Trunks stepping out of his time machine. Cell groaned, and hid behind a rock. Of course the lavender-haired boy would show up early too, he had never seen a Goku fight before.  
The hour mark came and went, the z-fighters arrived as Frieza's energy became close enough for them to sense. Cell made sure that no parties could see him. They all watched in anticipation as Frieza's ship arrived in the atmosphere, pushing away the clouds and then kicking up a large amount of dust as it landed.  
Cell took a cursory sensing of the area, and noticed Goku was still a couple hours away. He looked over, and saw that Trunks looked worried as well. Cell shrugged and stepped out from behind his rock. The demi-saiyan jumped as he caught sight of Cell, and the large bio android waved a dismissive hand at him.  
"I will handle this, Trunks. You just sit there and look pretty." He said just loud enough for Trunks to hear. Glancing down at the Z-Fighters, it seemed Piccolo had also heard him.

Frieza stepped out onto the metal ramp of his ship and looked around, his father stepping out behind him.  
"So this is Earth..." Frieza trailed off as Cell landed in front of them. Frieza blinked. "Now, what in the world are you?" He asked, putting a finger on his chin.  
Cell laughed, his tail swishing behind him. He glanced back at where the z-fighters were watching, and he gave Gohan a little wave.  
"Oh, don't mind me, just someone hoping to get myself something to eat." He said, his pink eyes scanning over the soldiers that had gathered around the ship. "Too bad the main course is... burnt."  
Frieza turned to look at his soldiers when they all seemed to explode with no cause. Frieza snapped back to look at Cell, but Cell had disappeared. "Where the hell did he--" Frieza began to shout, but was cut off as Cell's tail wrapped around his throat.  
Cell laughed again and pulled Frieza's head back. "It's certainly a good thing that you aren't completely mechanical now, Frieza." He said, his tail jabbing the space tyrant in the neck, "Well, good for me, not you."  
Everyone watched in shock as Frieza was drained into nothing, his mechanical parts clattering to the ground. Cell turned to King Cold and began walking toward him, crushing what was left of Frieza's parts under foot.  
The King backed up in fear, putting his hands up. "Please, mercy! I'll do whatever you want!" He begged, his voice shaking with absolute terror. He fell onto the ground and backed into the wall of his ship. "I'll give you planets! Would you like that? Entire systems under your control--"  
Cell cut him off with a finger wave. "No talking at the dinner table, one would think that as a king you would have better manners after all." He joked, lifting King Cold with his telekinesis. "Now, it's time for dessert."  
Cold screamed in horror and pain as Cell's tail pierced through his armor like it was butter and he began to drain the life out of him.

A breeze blew by as Cell shook the ex-king's armor off of his tail, it landing on the ship ramp with a loud thunk. He turned to face the horrified z-fighters and Trunks, and beckoned them to come down with a wave. Cell watched as the fighters were frozen in place for a solid minute, and he chuckled to himself.  
"Gohan! Come down! We've got some catching up to do, friend!" Cell shouted as he sat down at the top of the ramp to Cold's ship.

Gohan perked up, and blinked a little as he heard his name being called by the strange creature that had just defeated Frieza and King Cold. All of the other z-fighters looked over at him, and he hopped down off the mesa. He cautiously walked over to the ship, when his eyes locked with Cell's.  
"...Cell? Is that really you?" He whispered, staring up at the massive grasshopper-looking creature.  
Cell nodded, and Gohan bolted into his arms, sobbing and hugging his friend. "I was worried about you! I thought something might've happened to you! Where were you? Why do you look so different?" Gohan asked in rapid succession, as the other z-fighters started flying down towards the two.

Suddenly, Trunks landed in front of the z-fighters, powering up to Super Saiyan.

"Let Gohan go. I want an explanation. How the hell did you know my name? How the hell do you know Gohan? Talk!" He shouted, powering up an energy blast in his hand.

Gohan hid behind Cell, and Cell narrowed his eyes.  
"No need to be so rash, Trunks. Let's talk elsewhere, you're scaring the boy." Cell said, putting a hand on Gohan's head, he turned to look at the frightened kid. "I'll be back in a bit, I have to talk some sense into this... idiot." He said, patting Gohan on the head.  
Both Cell and Trunks flew away from the group until not even Piccolo would be able to hear them.  
Cell floated in the air, arms crossed with an angry expression on his face. "Mind telling me what the fuck that was?" He growled, causing Trunks to look back at the z-fighters.  
"I'm sorry, I just thought--" He tried to explain, but Cell put up a finger to silence him.  
"You frightened the boy over a simple thought that I might harm him." He rasped, "However, you missed one vital fact."  
Trunks blinked. "What?" He asked, powering down.  
"I am much faster than you. If I truly had wanted to kill the boy..." Cell started, appearing behind Trunks and wrapping his tail around the boy's throat much like he had done before, "...You wouldn't be able to do a thing."

Trunks grabbed at Cell's tail, and Cell let go.  
"Right.. I see your point." Trunks stuttered, rubbing at his sore neck. "Now, mind telling me who and what you are?" He asked.  
Cell stayed silent for a moment and then smiled. "A time traveler, just like you are." He said, causing Trunks' eyes to widen. "I was created solely to... destroy the androids." Cell stated, his tail making a dramatic swoosh behind him. "My tail has the ability to contain and destroy them."  
Trunks stared at Cell's tail, watching it swish from side to side like that of a cat. "Then... we're on the same side?" He asked, looking back into Cell's eyes, searching for any trace of a lie.  
"I suppose so." Cell said with a laugh, "However, don't get me wrong, I'd rather not hang around you."  
Trunks frowned. "Why is that?" He questioned, folding his arms in indignation.  
"Lets just call it... an executive decision." Cell laughed and flew back to the z-fighters.

Cell landed back by Cold's ship, scarf waving in the breeze and Trunks trailing behind with an embarrassed look on his face. Cell turned to Trunks and cleared his throat. "Apologize to the boy." He said, pointing to Gohan.

  
Trunks looked at Gohan, who seemed to be still scared of him. This tore at his heartstrings, and he sighed.

"Sorry if I scared you, Gohan. I let my fear get to me, and I wasn't thinking properly." He apologized, which made Vegeta scoff behind him.

  
"What a pansy, apologizing just because someone told him to." Vegeta mocked, crossing his arms.

  
Cell glared at Vegeta, and turned back to Trunks. "You can do the explaining to Goku when he gets here. I'm going inside the ship and looking for stragglers." He ordered, pressing a button on the side of the ship. "Feel free to join me if you get bored waiting." He stepped inside, leaving a baffled group of z-fighters alone outside.

  
Krillin broke the silence. "So uh... Gohan.. who was that?" He asked, "An old science project of yours?"  
Gohan shook his head. "That's my friend, Cell, I found him when Piccolo was training me. He's some sort of bug monster I think."

  
Trunks scratched his head. "Why would he go back that far if he's supposed to destroy the androids..." He muttered to himself, making the other z-fighters look at him.  
"Go back?" Bulma asked, sitting down on the ramp next to Gohan. "What do you mean by that?"  
Trunks remained silent for a moment and he sighed. "Just... wait for Goku to show up and I'll explain everything." He said, pulling out a capsule and tossing it. "Anyone care for drinks?" He asked.  
"After that show, I'm feeling too sick to drink anything. What the hell was that anyways?" Yamcha asked, also sitting on the floor. "Did he... drink Frieza and the other guy?"

  
Piccolo said nothing as he walked into the ship. Turning around a bend in a hallway, he found Cell draining the life out of a random soldier. Piccolo scoffed. "So much for 'I don't eat people', huh?" He joked, leaning against a wall.  
"Ah. Piccolo. It's... good to see you, I suppose." Cell said, tossing the soldier's armor to the ground and turning to the Namekian. "How was Namek?" He asked, beginning to search the rest of the area.  
Piccolo glared at him. "And just who told you about that?" He interrogated, causing Cell to laugh.  
"Oh... a little birdie told me." He joked, as he pulled a birdlike alien out of a closet and drained it dry.  
Piccolo looked away in disgust. "Do you really have to do that?" He asked, putting a hand over his eyes.  
Cell chuckled. "Of course, if I am going to keep Gohan safe, I must gather as much energy as I can."  
The two walked in silence as Cell searched for more soldiers, when Trunks called into the ship.

  
"Hey, you two! Goku's here!" He shouted, and the green two walked toward the entrance. "I finished explaining everything while you were in there." He said as Cell stepped out of the ship, followed by Piccolo.

Goku blinked, staring at the large insectoid creature in front of him. "So uh... you're Cell?" He asked, holding a hand out for Cell to shake.  
Cell stared at him for a minute and then shook his hand. He looked up at the sun, and back at Goku. "I hope your wife has dinner ready, I certainly am starving." He said, causing the humans in the group to shiver.  
Goku blinked, and nodded. "I'm hungry too! Let's go eat!" He said, laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to be many time skips after the 3 years one, I think.   
> Long chapter is long. I hope I did a good job portraying Trunks. Most of what I remember of him is from Abridged, especially the Broly movie. Hehe. Looks like lavender, smells like strawberries.


	7. Arguing at Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cell and the Son family get into a disagreement at dinner.

Cell stood at the dinner table, his wings and tail making it impossible for him to sit comfortably. Goku sat at the table, staring awkwardly while he waited for dinner to be served.  
Gohan ran over holding a large number of pillows and blankets.

"Here you go, Cell! Maybe you can sit on these?" He said, muffled by the pillows covering his face. 

"Gohan! Is that all the pillows in the house?! You're going to have to put those back when your friend is done!" Chi-Chi shouted, having looked in from the kitchen. She went back into the kitchen as she had a lot of last-minute cooking to do, since not only did her husband come home, Gohan had befriended yet another monster!  
Cell and Gohan piled up the pillows into a sort of mountain, and Cell sat on it. Although the pile compressed a little bit, he did manage to sit. This was probably the most comfort he had felt since he was in the growing tank, he thought to himself.  
Chi-Chi came in holding a large pot which had a lovely smell coming from it.

"I hope you like stew, it's all I had ingredients for." She chirped, stirring it and pouring each person a bowl.  
Cell waited for the others to start eating. "So, Goku, about the androids." Cell said, causing Goku to look up from his stew bowl, "I would like to train Gohan personally as it would be the best way to ensure his survival."  
There was a coughing sound from Chi-Chi, who seemed to have choked on a bit of fish. Cell continued before she could interject.

"I know many techniques, and teaching them to the boy would be very beneficial, and with my power level being much higher than yours..." He trailed off, believing his point to been made.

Goku blinked, "I mean.. I was going to train Gohan but--" He started, when Chi-Chi interrupted him.  
She stood up and started yelling, waving her spoon with every word, "You are not training my boy! If I had my way you wouldn't be anywhere near him let alone in the same room as him! I swear! Monsters like you and Piccolo are much too dangerous to be--"  
Cell cut her off with telepathy, making her physically unable to open her mouth. She strained to try and open it.  
He smirked. "Oh do go on, don't stop on my account. You were saying how if you had it your way?" He sarcastically said, resting his head on one of his hands. "Cat got your tongue?" 

Gohan frantically ran over to his mother when she started pulling at her mouth trying to open it. "Cell, stop! You're hurting her!" He shouted.

Cell reluctantly let go of his mental hold on her mouth when Goku stood up, knocking over a few bowls. He watched as the two comforted Chi-Chi, and he walked to the door of the room. "If you want me to prove to you why I should be the one to train the boy," He said and waved a hand to signal Goku to follow him, "We can dispute this with a fight. Winner trains Gohan. Loser... well... we'll just see what happens to you." Cell walked out of the house, chuckling to himself.

Goku checked over Chi-Chi one last time and turned to Gohan. "What's up with your friend? Why'd he do that?" Goku asked, folding his arms.

Gohan scratched his head. "I don't know. He didn't act like this before... not really?" He turned to look out the window, where he could see Cell standing and waiting for Goku to come out. "You're not going to fight him, are you?" Gohan asked.

Goku sighed. "After what he did to your mother, I'd be wrong not to. Hey, maybe this will... uh... fix him?" Goku said as he headed out the door. "You never know! I mean apparently I was a jerk before I hit my head, so, maybe if I hit him on the head enough he'll stop being a jerk?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so late and short! I was hoping to have it done like a while ago but I got stuck on a certain scene and so I've decided to post everything BEFORE that scene. I guess it would've been obvious to do that in hindsight yeah?  
> I've also got a Gohan and Cell bonding chapter finished, which I did when procrastinating the scene haha. I can't post that until the scene is finished and posted since it's supposed to be set AFTER that scene.  
> I know what I want to happen in the scene, but I can't seem to place the specifics. Big oof.  
> I tried to make Cell more in character, villain-ish, and manipulative in this chapter.


	8. Destruction and Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku and Cell fight. Later, Gohan and Cell have fun drawing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, we're at 10,000 words! This is by far the longest thing I've ever written! I'm very proud and I hope you are proud of me too. This point also means I'm going to go look back at the older chapters and maybe fix things up. If the word count changes, that's why! I might also add some scenes here and there to strengthen Gohan and Cell's bond.

Goku jumped back as a blast hit the ground in front of him. He looked up at Cell, who had flown into the sky in the time it took him to step outside. He opened his mouth to tell him off for firing so close to the house when another blast threw him across the yard. Using this momentum, he bounced from tree trunk to tree trunk as blasts scorched the forest floor around him. "Hey!" He shouted while darting to another tree, "Be careful, you might start a forest fire!"  
Cell's response was yet another blast, causing the tree Goku was bouncing off of to collapse.  
Goku groaned and flew into the air, leaving himself an open target but hopefully making it possible for him to lead the clearly upset insectoid away from the forest and his family.  
Cell watched as Goku weaved between blasts, flying away from him at a frantic speed. He chuckled to himself, he hadn't had this much fun in... well, that morning. He followed after the fleeing Saiyan, firing basic energy blast after basic energy blast until they ended up in a desert. His senses told him that Gohan was very far behind them and some of the other Z-Fighters would be arriving soon as well. Based on how fast Gohan was moving, he had about ten minutes until the boy would arrive. Perfect. He landed with arms folded, stopping his attacks to wait for his audience. He'd give them an encore to morning's fight.  
Just as the others arrived, Goku watched as Cell got into a worryingly familiar pose. His hands cupped at his sides. "He can't be..." Goku muttered to himself.  
"Ka..." Cell began the phrase that Goku was worried he was going to say.  
"...Me..." Goku looked over at his friends, who were all in as much shock as he was. He turned back to Cell, he saw and felt the energy gathering in his hands. It made every hair on his body stand up, and a chill went down his spine.  
"...Ha..." It could've killed Frieza with ease and have enough energy to spare to destroy the planet.  
"...Me..."With that thought, it seemed Cell had realized this too. Everyone watched in absolute horror as Cell shot up into the air, now aiming not only at him but the planet itself too. Before anyone could protest, Cell fired the attack with the final "Ha!" and it began barrelling toward Goku.  
Goku braced himself and quickly fired his own Kamehameha, which was quickly engulfed by the massive one Cell had created. Goku's breath caught in his throat, but just as the attack was going to hit, Cell redirected it back toward himself.  
The Z-Fighters watched surprised as the glow of the attack completely engulfed Cell, and for a minute they were rendered blind from the explosion that ensued. The shockwave hit and everyone but a few was completely tossed around by it.  
Goku's vision slowly restored itself, he picked himself up onto his knees and, to his amazement, Cell was completely unscathed.  
Cell slowly landed on the ground in front of Goku. He crouched down in front of him, and with a smirk, he spoke to the kneeling Saiyan. "If you are that startled by my power, be assured, that was not even the half of it." He said, causing Goku's eyes to widen even further.  
Gohan landed a few meters away and ran up to the two. "What happened? What was that crazy energy?! Are you ok?!" He asked, looking both up and down and sideways.  
Cell chuckled. "I will be the one training you, Gohan." He turned to Goku, who was in the midst of standing up. "Isn't that right, Goku?" He said, and Goku nodded.  
"You can train him... if I get to train with him too," Goku said, standing fully up. "I can see how your training would benefit him, but I'd still like to get to train with my son."  
Cell narrowed his eyes and looked away. "Fine. Don't be surprised when he surpasses you."  
Goku laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it."

* * *

 

It was about a month since Future Trunks left. Goku still allowed Cell to stay in their home, but both he and Chi-Chi were still very wary. They knew there was something off about him, but in front of Gohan they would just shrug it off like they were being paranoid. Cell never left the house, unless Gohan did. Anywhere the boy went, he went too. Hell, Chi-Chi could've sworn the time that she took Gohan out shopping for new books she saw him standing atop a building. Not doing anything, of course, just watching. This freaked her out, and so she decided she needed to get out of the house. She grabbed a night bag and drove off to her dad's house, saying she "just wanted to visit him to make sure he's doing well" despite the fact that she had just been on the phone with him the night prior.  
After a couple of minutes, Goku left to go "fishing", in reality, he was going to think. There was always a nagging feeling in the back of his head about Cell knowing the Kamehameha. What other moves did he know? He knew he couldn't take Gohan with him without Cell following them, so he had to go alone.  
This meant Cell and Gohan were left all alone.  
Gohan sat on the floor, drawing a picture of different animals in pencil. He looked up at Cell, who was sitting across from him not doing anything. The android stared back at him, and an idea came to his mind.  
He pulled out a fresh paper and pencil and walked up to Cell.  
"You should draw something too! I'd really like to see it." Gohan stated, handing the pencil and paper to him.  
Cell blinked, putting the pencil to the page. He sat there in that pose for a minute and looked back up to Gohan. "What... what do you want me to draw?" He asked.  
Gohan put a hand to his chin as he thought. "Uhh... how about..." He muttered to himself as he looked around the house for inspiration. His eyes landed on a photo of himself and Goku, and he gasped. "Do you have a dad?" He asked, turning back to Cell.  
"Of a sort." Cell stated, putting the pencil to the paper and beginning to sketch. Gohan tried to follow his hand with his eyes, but his drawing was much too fast for the boy's eyes to catch. He swore that if Cell had been moving any faster, the paper would've started smoking!  
Gohan watched as Cell's hand went from side to side as if he were a printer. This really intrigued him but before he could ask, Cell finished drawing and held the paper up for Gohan to see. "Is this satisfactory?" He asked.  
Gohan gaped in awe as he saw his friend's drawing. It was a photorealistic drawing of a not-so kind-looking old man with a mustache and a huge bald spot on his head. It looked like he was looking at the viewer through glass and liquid. "Woah! How did you do that?" Gohan asked, looking the picture up and down.  
"I have what you would call a photographic memory. Every memory that is created in my brain is stored permanently for future use." Cell stated, tapping his head. "This is my earliest memory upon creation."  
Gohan carefully took the picture out of Cell's hands. "We've gotta frame this or something!" He exclaimed, cautiously walking the paper over to the table. "I wonder if mom has a spare frame around?" He said, setting the paper down as carefully as he could.  
Gohan dug through drawers and other storage around the house and eventually, he found a dusty old frame in the closet. He ran back to Cell, who was staring at the picture on the table, and he slid the picture into the frame. "We can put this in my room if that's ok with you?" Gohan asked, turning to Cell.  
Cell nodded, and Gohan hung the picture above his desk.  
"I'm going to get us something to drink, be right back!" Gohan said, heading out of the room.  
Cell turned and looked at the drawing, then turned to look back where Gohan had left. What would Gero think of him now? He felt a burning shame in his chest and his memory of Gero's voice came to his mind, but he brushed it away when Gohan came back into the room with two glasses of water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I randomly got inspiration for that fight scene and decided it'd be extremely one-sided. How wouldn't it be? Cell's been drinking people every day since Gohan left for Namek, so he'd be very powerful even if he had to keep his consumption low to not draw too much attention. I'd say he'd average about two people a day, and a whole family on occasion. Of course, he'd also be drinking livestock and whatever other wild animals he'd find, so that'd boost his numbers. If I had to put a direct correlation on his power, I'd say he'd be halfway to the power level of his second form. Might not be much to his main timeline counterpart but to this timeline, it's quite a bit more than what they're used to.


End file.
